Victims of deadly fire at senior citizen complex in Plainview, N.Y. identified
PLAINVIEW, N.J. - The devastating Long Island fire that swept through a senior citizen complex in Plainview has claimed another life.
Police said one elderly victim was declared dead at the scene. The second died in the hospital after suffering severe burns.
The women were respected and admired among neighbors.
"They lived on the same tier, one in front, one in back," a neighbor said.
Distraught neighbors and friends of the victims said it's difficult to comprehend the deaths of Lynne Citron, 74, and Theresa Casale, 84. The two innocent lives were lost in the senior citizen housing inferno.
"Flames were hitting my window, and I thought I was next," resident Regina Palumbo said.
Palumbo recalled how she managed to ring every doorbell in her unit to awaken sleeping residents Sunday morning. She watched helplessly as fire tore through Building 107 in the Town of Oyster Bay complex.
"That's my apartment up there, so lost it all. What are you going to do?" resident Nibia Cipriano said.
Cipriano felt smoke so thick she could see nothing as many neighbors stumbled out on walkers. She said the women who died were not as mobile.
"One lived in the front, the other in the back. Constantly helping each other - they didn't come down often, they couldn't," Cipriano said.
"My deepest emotion I have right now is concern is for the people who are left homeless," Sister Margaret Traynor, a resident and church volunteer, said.
"We mourn the lives of those who passed away and we pray for those injured and displaced. The town will continue to assist the housing authority with resources needed to help those who lost their homes," the town supervisor said in a statement.
Nassau's fire marshal said they are investigating, though the fire is not deemed suspicious. Relatives of one the victims told CBS New York's Jennifer McLogan their emotions are raw, and they want, and need, answers.
The Town of Oyster Bay said residents are required to have their own rental fire insurance.
